Friday reader's view: What were the criteria for church closings?

By the Midland Daily News

Published 7:00 am, Friday, February 7, 2014

To the editor:

The Catholic parishioners of churches being closed in Saginaw Diocese are asking: what were the criteria for the decision for closing these churches? 1) Was it the number of parishioners? Some of the churches have between 100 and 200 families. 2) Was it financial? One church (St. Norbert’s, Munger) has $200,000 in its saving account. 3) Was it the shortage of priests? Most of these churches were doing well under a lay pastoral administrator. With more and more priests retiring, will more and more churches be closed? 4) What is the reason for the closings?

I wonder how many know the makeup of the Diocesan Planning Committee that had the “decision-making-power” along with the bishop to close these churches? There were 19 members on the committee: 10 were clergy, five were women and four were lay men. To appoint 10 clerics seems to indicate that the church belongs to the clergy and not to the people of God. The fact that there were 14 men on the committee and only five women seems to point to the reality that women are not considered very important in the Church of Saginaw. Perhaps the Diocese needs to establish an “appeal board” of some kind, so that ordinary parishioners have a chance to oppose the closing of their church.

Our church preaches social justice. There are two pillars supporting social justice in our church. The first pillar is Dignity of the Human Person. Along with that is the Principle of Subsidiarity (decisions should be made by the ones being affected and not by outsiders).The second pillar is the Common Good. Should not the common good of the parishioners come before any other good? Social justice!

Hopefully, the answer to what were the criteria for the closings will be given in the near future, certainly before July 2014.